1890 was a unique year in Brooklyn baseball- there were teams in three major leagues. Two of these
teams lasted only for that one season, though, leaving the Dodgers-to-be as the last major league team
Brooklyn would see until 1914.
In an ultimately doomed attempt to improve conditions for professional baseball players, a rebel
group, led by John Montgomery "Monte" Ward and Ned Hanlon, formed a completely new league from scratch.
This league was known as the Brotherhood to its members, but others called it the Players League. Its Brooklyn
entry was managed by Ward and known by his name- Ward's Wonders. The Wonders signed a
lease on Eastern Park, which was far from baseball's South Brooklyn fan base, but very well
served by trolley lines and a railway stop.
This was a team of quality that
began the season playing below potential. On July 5, they were 33-32, but two days later Gus Weyhing
blanked Chicago, 9-0, sparking a 15-3 run that saw the Wonders become contenders for the pennant.
They returned to mediocre play after that, however, and eventually finished in second place, 6.5 games
behind the Boston Reds with a record of 71-61.
Gus Weyhing, Monte Ward, George Van Haltren
Gus Weyhing was the star of the club, going 30-16 with a 3.60 ERA, and pitching a Herculean
390 innings. Manager Ward played shortstop and stole 63 bases, while first baseman Dave Orr
drove in 124 runs. George Van Haltren won 15 games as a pitcher, and also played outfield, hitting
.335.
After the 1890 season, the Players League seemingly held the upper hand in negotiations with the National
League and the faltering American Association, but their backers wavered, and the league disbanded.
The Boston Reds went to the American Association and duly won its final pennant in 1891, while the
Wonders more or less merged with the National League champion Bridegrooms. Ward became manager for
1891 and 1892, and the team played at Eastern Park for seven more years.
Brooklyn
Wonders, Brooklyn Gladiators
The Brooklyn Gladiators, known more usually in the papers as Kennedy's Men for manager Jim Kennedy, and
Kennedy's Kids elsewhere due to the young age of the manager, were a hastily
arranged entry in the American Association of 1890. The Bridegrooms had won the pennant in 1889,
but immediately jumped to the National League. The Association could not afford to lose a presence
in such a large market, so a team was assembled from parts, largely second stringers from other
Association clubs, and installed at Wallace's Ridgewood Grounds. The team was initially referred to as
the Ridgewood Club but, presumably for marketing
reasons, soon became known as Brooklyn. They began the season poorly, and never gained any momentum. As the season wore on, newspaper reports concentrated
less on the team's performance and more on Kennedy's complaints about the umpires.
Due to low attendances, the Gladiators
first abandoned Ridgewood in June for the Polo Grounds in New York, then became almost a road team. They
followed the first Polo Grounds game with a 34 game road trip, played seven more home games in New York
and two at the Long Island Grounds, then finished with a 19 game road trip. The Gladiators lost their last 14 games to finish 11.5 games out of
second last place, with a dismal 26-73 record. Mercifully, Kennedy's Men did not play a second season.
Ed Daily, Jumbo Davis
Only Ed Daily won 10 games for the Gladiators, although he lost 15 in the process. He also
played outfield and stole a remarkable 49 bases in 91 games. Other relatively effective players
were first baseman Billy O'Brien, whose 108 hits led the squad, and third baseman Jumbo Davis,
who hit .303 after being traded from St. Louis.
